>> eastern europe after the war? is kind of a black hole actually in european history. very few people know very much about it. one of the points of writing the book was to put together what the people have done in other languages and to use archives and interviews to tell a story that hasn't been very well told. how did communism take over this region and how is it done? >> how quick the after the end of world war ii did the "iron curtain" and the communist takeover eastern europe? >> it actually happened quite fast. in the sense that when the red army came into the region, they were already prepared. they didn't know how long it was going to take and they didn't have a 10-point plan. that they began trying to control key institutions from the beginning, including the secret police but also the radio and other parts of the society they considered important. that was done from 44 to 45, whenever they got there. >> where were the strongest areas of resistance? >> probably poland. in poland there was a resistancm eastern poland and they were in opposition. >> are their la